Secrets
by Skye Montana
Summary: Lilly felt a hand grasp her shoulder and she locked eyes with the girl again. "Just some advice 'cause I like you - stay away from Miley. She is dangerous." AU, Liley.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

**Author's Note: **A special thanks goes to dcjp, who did the beta-reading for me.

_Secrets_

_Chapter One_

Fingernails scraped along the old wooden surface, a slender hand pressing firmly against it without producing any sound. A sharp noise echoed from somewhere in the dark, making the lone figure cringe and turn its head in an attempt to see the source of the disturbance. A black shadow appeared above the trees, its wings spread out, rising against the dark sky that was now a red and orange blur.

_Just a stupid bird_. Lilly's posture relaxed and she let out the breath she'd been holding. The fields were hidden in the dark, but she could still smell the Tennessee farm air. She scrunched her nose in disgust, letting her hand fall back down to her side for the fifth time. There was absolutely no way she could do this. Why on earth had she let her mother persuade her into doing a student exchange? "You have to meet new people and make some friends." That's what her mother had said when Lilly had tried desperately to convince her that this was a bad idea. She'd screamed and begged on her knees, but her mother had insisted.

Lilly wiped her clammy hands on her washed-out jeans and blew the bangs out of her face, but they fell again over her eyes, blinding her vision. Her hoody stuck against her back like a second skin, making her feel uncomfortable. "Stupid anxiety," she cursed under her breath. There was no chance she could make a good first impression looking as if she'd run a marathon.

Inhaling deeply, she raised her hand again and froze in mid air._ Good! First step already taken._ The only thing she had to do now was move her hand forward and knock on the stupid door. That couldn't be so hard. _Knock Lilly, just knock._ How could such an easy move suddenly be so difficult to do? With every passing second, she felt her courage dwindle. A flight back to her home felt more and more tempting and when she turned around to drag her heavy suitcases back down the stairs of the front porch, the door jerked open. Lilly jumped in surprise and spun around, the grip around her suitcases loosening and they fell with a dull thud against the wooden floor next to her feet.

She found herself face to face with a girl. An amused twinkle flickered in one of the girl's eyes as she observed Lilly. And after a moment, her lip gloss coated lips curved into a toothy, radiating smile.

Lilly remembered the day she'd received an e-mail from the Stewarts. A picture of the same girl had flickered over the monitor screen and she'd just sat there for a while, not able to avert her gaze. This time it was different. Worse, she'd say. The sight nearly left her breathless.

The girl's hair was braided into two long pigtails, hanging over either side of her shoulders. A hairpin, in a shape of a flower, was tangled in her bangs, preventing them from falling into her face.

Lilly was mesmerized, nearly forgetting that this time she wasn't looking at a picture, but the real girl."I-I'm Lilly," she said, startled at how high pitched her voice sounded and she was even more startled when the girl pulled her into a sudden hug. It was one of those short but awkward hugs. Before she was even able to consider hugging her back, the girl let go, grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her inside. A dull light engulfed her, glowing from a ceiling light that looked like something her grandmother would love.

"I know who you are. I'm Miley," she chuckled softy. "I watched ya for quite a while. I thought you were goin' to stand there all night long and I couldn't wait any longer."

So Miley was spying on her while she acted like the biggest dork ever. That was just great! Lilly felt the sudden urge to slap herself. Could it get any worse?

"Bud, that's enough. Ya wanna scare the girl away before I get a chance to meet her?" A handsome, middle-aged man appeared through the door to her left. "I'm Robbie Ray. Miley's dad," he greeted and smiled kindly at her.

"It's a p-pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stewart," Lilly said. Again this stuttering. What was suddenly wrong with her? She'd always been very shy, but she had never been the person to stutter. Mr. Stewart offered her his hand and she'd no other choice but to take it if she didn't want to come across as impolite.

"Please, call me Robbie Ray. And you don't have to be embarrassed. Miley has always been too curious. She doesn't know when to stop invadin' other people's privacy." Lilly watched sheepishly out of the corner of her eye as Robbie Ray wiped the hand he'd used a second ago to greet her on his shirt.

Miley grabbed the man by the arm, pushing him gently away. "Daddy, the things you tell about me - always so flatterin'." She turned again to Lilly. "Please, don't listen to him. The man doesn't know what he's saying. I'd introduce you to my brother Jackson, but he's apparently still working at the farm." She tried to look outside the window, probably to search for him, before she realized the curtains were closed. "Or either too lazy to come down. But I'll promise you you'll meet him at supper. He'll never skip that. For now I'm carrying your suitcases upstairs."

* * *

There had always been this painful weight, pressing on Miley's chest. A sensation like there would never be enough air to fill her lungs. But suddenly something had changed. When she had come upstairs, she'd let go of the suitcases the moment her bed came into view and not able to stop herself, she had thrown herself onto it and was now giggling like a madwoman into the mattress. It was several long minutes before she was able to stop. And as she lay there thinking, realization sunk in. She knew what made her feel so happy. She was finally able to speak to someone else than her brother or dad. It had been a long time since that had happened.

The sound of something falling caused her to look up. Lilly had fallen over the suitcases and had landed head first on the floor, one leg still draped over one of them. Miley couldn't help but let out a childish giggle at the sight in front of her before heading over to Lilly and pulling her up by the hand. "Sorry for laughin'. That looked really painful. Are you okay?"

"Ouch." Lilly scrunched her face in pain. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Miley studied her eyes, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. She'd known Lilly for only a few minutes but already cared so much for her that she was starting to question her mental health. No matter what, she was determined she wasn't going to screw anything up this time. This time she wanted to make everything right. But her mind was again too slow to prevent her from reaching out and brushing Lilly's bangs out of her face. "Really? Are you sure?" Her fingertips brushed over the red scratch on Lilly's forehead, causing Lilly to wince slightly. "Looks like you need a band aid or somethin' like that."

"No. It doesn't hurt." Lilly spluttered out so fast, Miley was afraid she'd crossed the line.

"You really sure?" she asked nevertheless.

Lilly gulped and squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't like people being so close. It always made her feel uncomfortable. Although she wasn't able to see more than a hazy red light through her closed eye lids, she could still feel the light touches of Miley's fingertips on her skin.

A short period of silence passed where neither of them said anything. Finally Miley spoke. "D'ya want me to show you around the farm?" She asked as she realized Lilly wasn't going to answer her previous question. Everyone loved animals. And if Lilly had fun, Miley hoped they would become friends.

"Okay, why not." Lilly shrugged.

Miley grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her down the stairs. "We've twelve chickens, three horses, two dogs and one cow and five cats and, oh, there're also a few mice in the barn, but I dunno if they count." The words spilled so fast over her lips that Lilly wasn't able to understand a single word, but Miley didn't care. She was too excited to show her around and hopefully make a new friend.

The deep voice of Robbie Ray reached them in the corridor before Miley could step through the front door. "What're ya two up to?"

"I want to show Lilly the animals," Miley said.

"Nah, bud. Supper's ready and it's already dark outside. I'm sure you'll have enough time tomorrow to do that."

Miley sighed heavily and led Lilly to the kitchen, right next to the stairs. The room was large; every corner was stuffed with dark oak furniture that looked as ancient as everything else in the house. Robbie Ray and a boy who Lilly figured had to be Jackson were already sitting at the round table where there were four plates with pancakes piled on them, syrup spilling over them and forming puddles on the plates. "Mmm, nice." Miley flopped down on a seat and Lilly took the seat next to her. "My dad's the best cook. Trust me, you're not going to be able to stop once you've tasted his pancakes. They are super delicious."

Robbie Ray draped an arm over her shoulder, squeezing her into a half-hug. "That's my baby girl. She knows how to give me compliments."

Miley squeezed her eyes shut and giggled in embarrassment, the curls of her hair swinging up and down. "Aww, Daddy!"

Jackson was already bent over the table, munching noisily, the tip of his nose almost touching his plate.

Miley was about to complain to her dad but after a quick glance to her right she decided against it. Lilly was slouched in her seat, a few strands of hair hanging into the syrup. Miley found herself laughing. "Let me fix that for you," she said, pulling the strand of hair out of the plate.

"Mmh?" Lilly looked up and then down at her syrup-sticky hair. "Uh-Oh." Her gaze was instantly fastened on the plate again, a light pink coloring her cheeks.

Another throaty laugh left Miley's mouth. "Don't be embarrassed."

Lilly kept on staring down at her plate, not daring to look up anymore as the dinner continued, hearing the clattering of knives scratching against porcelain and soft laughing and talking. She wasn't really concentrating on what they said. She was already sure they were making fun of her.

Then someone said her name.

"Huh?" Lilly swallowed her half chewed pancake, the slice was still too big and it was almost painful as it slid oh-so slowly down her throat. She hesitantly cast her gaze upwards, realizing that Robbie Ray was looking expectantly at her. "Are you lookin' forward to your sophomore year?" he asked again.

"Well, yes. It's going to be fun." No, it definitely wasn't. In fact her whole body was so tense, she thought she'd have a muscle ache tomorrow.

"Miley could take an example from you. For two days she's been wailing about nothing but that she doesn't want to go. It's also her first year at this school, you see."

"So she attended a different high school last year?" Lilly asked.

"No, there's only one school in town. I was homeschooled during freshman year," Miley interrupted.

"Homeschooled? That's awesome. My mom would never allow me to do that. We wouldn't be able to afford it anyway."

Miley put her knife down, a furrow forming between her brows. "It's not as great as it sounds. You're always at home. You don't meet people and you ain't able to make friends. It actually sucks big time."

"But you did it anyway?" That didn't make sense.

"Yeah, I did. But that's only 'cause…well…"

"'Cause Miss _I get everything that I want _wanted to," Jackson mumbled, a piece of chewed pancake falling out of his mouth and landing on the plate below.

"Jackson!" Miley glared at him. "Of course I wanted to be homeschooled. But it's not like I really had any choice. What I want to say is that... uh... it's complicated. Look, I can't..." Miley looked at Robbie Ray, her eyes pleading for help.

He seemed to understand the hint, easing himself up and smacking his palms together. "Finish up girls. It's already past your bedtime."

Jackson threw a glance at his wrist watch. "But dad, it's ten o'clock. And, hello, it's not even a school night."

"Lilly has had a long journey today. I'm sure she's exhausted."

Lilly was more confused than anything else. What was this homeschooling all about? What was it that Miley didn't want to tell her? She risked a short look to her right. Miley really did look upset. What did she do wrong? Maybe she really was a person who didn't get along with people easily.


	2. Chapter 2

_Secrets_

_Chapter Two_

Lilly stared at the ceiling, trying to make out the printed flowers on the tapestry, but they had vanished behind dark shadows. If she hadn't been a hundred percent sure that this exchange was a bad idea the moment she'd seen the shadowy outlines of the house looming in front of her earlier that evening - she was now. One hour had gone by since they went to bed and she found herself still thinking about all the events that had happened this evening. The mental images of her tripping over the suitcases and letting her hair hang into her food made her cringe. This wasn't how she'd pictured her first day. Before she'd left home she'd felt this nauseating pressure in her stomach, telling her it wouldn't go as smoothly as she wished it would. But never had she thought that it would be such a disaster. Or maybe it wasn't one. Miley definitely didn't act like it was. Lilly suppressed a sigh. She still couldn't help but think everything went wrong.

She tried to concentrate on the quite rustling of the leaves as the wind blew through them. The trees cast their shadows through the two windows in front of her, landing on her blanket and producing the illusion of bony hands, crawling up to her face.

That didn't make her feel better. She averted her gaze and looked to the left, seeing the dark, blurry outlines of a figure who lay sprawled out under a blanket. Miley seemed to be asleep as Lilly could hear her regular breathing. Their beds stood side by side, only a small nightstand placed between them, an old lamp sitting on top of it.

Lilly's arm was pinned under her body, getting more numb with every second that passed by. She could clearly feel that the blood circulation had almost stopped. But she didn't dare move, afraid of waking Miley up. Why hadn't she gotten a room of her own? The house seemed big enough.

"Are you still awake?" A low, raspy voice came out of the dark without warning, causing Lilly to jump.

"Yes. Are you?" When she heard a stifled laugh coming from the bed beside hers she realized how stupid her question was. She felt her ears burning hot immediately and was grateful that she was hidden in the darkness.

"Why ain't you sleepin'?" Miley asked after a while.

"I just can't." She was basically sleeping with a stranger next to her and on top of that in a room that was not only unfamiliar, but also quite ominous. Lilly had never been so far away from home. At this thought she started to feel homesick.

"You're feelin' alone. Am I right?"

"Y-yes, I guess so."

"I know that feeling. I mean I've never been away from home but y'know it's just that..." Miley trailed off. After a short moment of silence she added, "I want you to take Beary. He helps me through everything and I'm sure he might help ya."

Something soft hit Lilly against the head. "What is it?" she asked, her fingertips trailing down over soft, matted material.

"My stuffed bear - Beary. This way you've someone to hold onto. And he likes to cuddle, by the way."

Lilly looked down at her lap. Even in the dark she could see that his snout looked a little crumpled, like someone had slept on him far too often. "Why thank you."

"No biggie, but be nice to him."

Lilly smiled. Miley actually seemed very nice and she started to feel better. She buried her face into the bear, not caring about how filthy it looked.

* * *

Lilly pressed her ear against the door, hearing muffled voices coming from the other side but she couldn't identify who they belonged to. She only hoped Jackson or Robbie Ray wouldn't be the one standing in the corridor. She was wearing her pajamas and her hair was still a mess. When Lilly had woken up, Miley's bed had been empty and the blanket and cushions were scattered on the floor. It reminded her of a crime scene in which Miley had been dragged out the room, kicking and screaming, but she had been too fast asleep to hear anything.

She pushed the door handle down and opened the door a crack. A stream of light entered the room and as she opened it further she was met with the sight of Miley, a boy standing next to her. His silky, brown hair settled over his eyes. It couldn't hide his delicate features though.

"Oh Morning, Lils. This is Oliver." The boy's eyebrows went up before a cheeky smile plastered across his lips. "We used to be best friends in middle school."

"Hey."

"I know it's early, but he wanted to meet you so badly," Miley said.

"Oh..." Lilly wished she'd dressed before leaving the room.

"Of course. After you were gushing so much about her last night on the telephone," Oliver said, a hint of mock in his voice.

Miley looked down on her shoes, blushing. "I- I wasn't gushin'."

"Yeah? And why then did you tell me that you think Lilly is -"

"No," Miley cut in, nearly shouting. "Please, don't!"

Lilly decided to leave them alone, squeaking a short, "I'm going to shower," as she pushed past them. She hadn't realized it could be so irritating listening to a conversation that she couldn't follow.

After her shower, Lilly entered their room again. Oliver was slouched on a seat, drumming with both of his index fingers against the edge of the desk in front of him. His head shot up, only to flash her a crooked smile. Lilly looked around the room, her eyes searching for Miley. She was nowhere to be seen. Oliver seemed to notice because he said, "Miley's in the kitchen, grabbing something for us to drink."

"Oh." Lilly glanced back into the corridor, not sure what to do or say, hoping for Miley's head to appear behind the end of the stairs any moment.

"You like living here - in the countryside?" she heard Oliver ask and turned around to face him. He peered through his bangs at her.

"Well... uh, it's not what I had expected," she said.

"Is that a good thing?"

"I think so." Lilly made her way slowly - almost hesitantly - over to Oliver, in the process almost stumbling over her suitcases again. She leaned against the desk.

A goofy grin appeared on his face, putting her immediately at ease. "Where are you from, anyway?"

"California. It's different there..." She stopped, insecurity crossing her features. For a moment she thought that she would bore him with her story, but the interested look on his face told her otherwise. "I live right next to the beach and I like to surf and skateboard. We have a lot of places you can do that and that's how I met most of my friends. And we have a big mall and lots of cafes and cinemas and stuff like that. No farms. I've actually never been on one. Animals... we only have pelicans and seagulls and dolphins. And it's, like, never raining..." Lilly trailed off, suddenly not knowing what to say anymore.

"I'm originally not from here, too. And all I can say, is thank God! I don't want to have such a screwed up accent. Don't you think people sound weird in Tennessee? Especially Miley?"

"I don't know. Just different I think." Lilly shrugged. "I guess I kinda like the southern accent."

"Oh, c'mon," Oliver said. "Miley is all, like, _Howdy, ya'll wanna know somethin'? I'm a hillbilly_." He tried to imitate the southern accent while holding his nose and Lilly struggled to stifle her laughter. She felt the same light heartedness talking with Oliver as she did with Miley, but spending time with him was different than with Miley – it was less tense.

Suddenly Oliver jerked his hand down. Miley came walking though the door, hugging three cans to her stomach. Lilly wasn't sure, but she thought she'd seen a short flash of sadness in Miley's eyes.

"Are you talking 'bout me?" She sat down on the desk between Lilly and Oliver.

"Of course not." Lilly gave Oliver a side-glance, waiting for him to deny it like she had.

"Yes," Oliver said flatly.

Miley popped one can open and handed it Lilly. The other one was shoved violently into Oliver's hand. "Oliver, no. You sound like my uncle trying to imitate animal sounds while havin' the sniffles. I definitely don't talk like that."

"Geesh, what the hell! I was joking. No need to get angry."

"I'm not angry! And stop cursing! Y'know daddy doesn't like it." Miley placed her can on the desk and stood up. "I'll help you unpack," she said to Lilly.

"You don't have to." Lilly didn't like people touching her stuff. But Miley was already on her knees in front of her suitcase, fiddling with the zipper.

"I won't take no for an answer. You're my guest and my dad always told me to be polite. That's just how we do things here in Tennessee. Offer your help, but never be too intrusive."

Oliver let out a boyish laugh. "You really have to work on the last part."

"You think so?" Miley asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Yeah!"

"Oh. I'll try to remember that." She turned again to the suitcase and started rummaging through the mountain of crumpled clothes. "Lilly, this is a mess!"

Oliver rolled his eyes at Lilly. "She'll never learn," he said, feigning annoyance.

Lilly chuckled. There was something about him that made her laugh at everything he said or did.

Miley didn't hear Oliver's remark, she was too busy digging through the suitcase and making remarks from time to time about how cute Lilly's dresses were. "You like Hannah Montana?" She stood up, holding a pile of CD's in her hand.

A small smile made its way onto Lilly's lips at the mention of the pop star. "Totally."

"Awesome! You've a lot of her CD's," Miley said, shuffling through them. "...Umm, only the special edition of the first is left."

"I know. It's because it's very rare," Lilly said, taking a sip out of her can. The soda prickled pleasantly on her tongue. "You seem to know a lot about her too."

"If you only knew..."

"Does that mean you're a fan?"

Miley didn't answer immediately. Instead she retrieved another chair, placing it backwards in front of Lilly and sitting down so she was facing her. "You could say that. But what's more interestin' is what you think about Hannah Montana."

"What I think?"

Miley nodded her head, which was now resting on her arms that were folded across the top of the chair.

"Like I said before. I like her." The truth was, she loved her. Lilly thought that she was amazing, a goddess. But she knew she could never admit that out loud.

"And?"

Oliver let himself slump forward in boredom, his forehead hitting the desk with a thud. "Guys, this is so stupid." His statement seemed to go by totally unnoticed by the girls as Lilly continued.

"And I love her music. She's also very pretty."

"And?" Miley stared up at her through long eyelashes, searching her gaze.

Oliver grumbled and let out a loud groan when he realized that neither girl was paying attention to him.

Lilly squirmed nervously. "Is this an interrogation or something like that?"

Miley let out a long stretched giggle. "No Lils, it's not an interrogation. I'm just interested. So, you think she's pretty? What do you mean by that? Like really, really pretty or just average pretty?"

"Miley, too intrusive. Remember?" Lilly was relieved when Oliver interfered, giving her no time to answer.

A sigh escaped Miley's mouth. "I'm sorry. It's just that I'm so happy you're here. You understand that, don't ya?"

"I guess so... and thanks," Lilly said, a sheepish smile spreading across her lips as her gaze fell to the floor.

Many conversations later, Oliver decided that he was bored and wanted to play video games at his house and Miley suggested to Lilly that she show her the farm. They were now walking past the house, giving Lilly the first opportunity to take a closer look at it in the daylight. When they walked further they came across a small pumpkin field and then past a tiny shed that was next to the house. The boards were painted in rainbow colors and Lilly thought it looked like someone who was colorblind had painted it.

"What's in there?" Lilly asked, curious about the sheds odd appearance.

"It used to be the hen house. I know, it's quite big. But we had a lot of chickens. Now it's only a borin' storage. Trust me, there's nothing excitin' in it. The horses will be way more interesting than this." Miley quickly made her way toward the fence next to the house and it seemed to Lilly like she was trying to get away from the storage as fast as possible.

Lilly followed her. "You have horses?"

"I told ya about it yesterday. Forget?"

Lilly couldn't remember. "Uh... of course not."

Miley laughed. "That's okay." She climbed over the wooden fence and Lilly copied her movements clumsily, landing in the waist-high grass on the other side. They walked across the field to a group of horses and Lilly extended her arms, the sharp ends of the blades brushing against her palms, pricking them. Miley came to a halt in front of a horse with white colored fur and patted his neck. "This is Blue Jeans."

"Cute."

"Yeah, right? He's like my best friend."

Lilly approached the horse and let her fingers glide carefully over his mane, hoping it was okay with Miley. The horse neighed, shaking his mane in response and Lilly drew her hand back, startled.

"Do you have many friends at home?" Miley asked.

"A few, but not that many." Actually, she wasn't even sure if she could call those people friends. They didn't care much about her. She was the one who always approached them to talk or hang out, not the other way around.

"I see..." Miley shifted her weight and opened her mouth a couple of times, only to close it. Lilly eyed her with amusement and couldn't help but think of her goldfish, moving it's mouth in the same way, day after day. "Wanna be my new best friend?" Miley eventually burst out.

"I- sure. Why not?" Lilly shrugged.

"Really?"

Lilly nodded without looking at Miley, her face turned away, trying to hide the smile that was appearing on her face. She was aware that she would come across as unfriendly if she acted like she didn't care, even when she felt like jumping around for joy. The problem was, she wasn't sure how to express her feelings.

They continued petting the horse in silence for several long moments. Finally, Miley broke the silence. "C'mon, best friend. I wanna show you the chickens." She headed for the house, a slight jump in her step.

Lilly leaned her head back and looked up into the sky. Fluffy clouds that reminded her of cotton candy were floating across a deep blue. _Best friend. _She smiled. That sounded great.


	3. Chapter 3

_Secrets_

_Chapter Three_

Today was the day Lilly had been dreading the entire weekend - the first day of school. She was sitting on the steps of the front porch, a sandwich in one hand, a piece of paper in the other. The paper was a note from Robbie Ray wishing her a good morning, letting her know that he and Jackson were working on the farm. Lilly let her gaze drift beyond the wooden fence and she could see the two of them from where she was sitting. Robbie Ray was feeding the horses and Jackson was sitting astride one, galloping over the grass, leaving a path behind him as the blades of grass snapped. Lilly watched with awe as he flicked the reins and the horse turned around so fast she thought Jackson was going to fall off, but he tightened the grip on the reins, sending the horse in the other direction. Two days ago she hadn't liked the idea of living on a farm, but since Miley had shown her the animals and she'd seen the beauty of the farm and nature around her, she'd changed her mind a little. Life here seemed so much more relaxing than in the city.

Lilly looked behind her as a loud clattering reached her ears and Miley stumbled through the door, not bothering to close it before she ran down the steps. "Why didn't you wake me up?" she panted. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was pulled back into an untidy bun.

"Sorry, I tried." Lilly had nudged Miley over and over again but she'd refused to get up and Miley's voice had been angry when she'd finally told her to get lost. Lilly had panicked and decided it was better to wait outside.

"Okay, whatever." Miley struggled with putting on her backpack. "It's not your fault. I sleep like a stone. I'm not much of a mornin' person, y'know."

Lilly sighed. _I already gathered as much. _She stood up and slung the strap of her backpack over her shoulder and tried to catch up with Miley, who was already dashing toward the road, her shoes creating a nearly unnoticeable stir of sand in her wake. "You don't have to run like that."

"I'm not runnin'."

"Then why do I have the feeling like my lungs are bur-" Lilly stopped abruptly, noticing the shirt Miley was wearing for the first time. It was not only a terrible color and way too big for her slim body, but there were also various pictures of sushi, hamburgers and sweets printed on it. "Wow. You wear different clothes here than in Malibu," she said, trying again to catch up with Miley.

"What?" Miley's voice was dripping with annoyance.

"Nothing." Miley was in a terrible mood and Lilly didn't want to be the one to make it worse.

They almost ran the entire way to school, only occasionally taking a break to walk, and by the time the school building came into sight, Lilly wanted nothing more than to fall down on the floor and never stand up again. A glance to her side told her that Miley was in an even worse condition, her breath coming in irregular gasps, and the panicked look on her face was even more evident than it was back at the house. Lilly felt her heartbeat quicken even more as they climbed up the steps to the main entrance of the school. What was she supposed to do if she had to introduce herself in front of the whole class? She remembered the first day of high school in her hometown. She'd stuttered in front of everyone and the kids had started to laugh, causing her to run to her seat and trip in the process. The entire first period had been accompanied by occasional glances and snickers. It had been one hell of a day.

Miley paused abruptly when they passed the doors that lead to the bathroom. "I wanna quickly fix my hair. Is that okay?"

"Sure. I'll wait in front of the classroom."

Miley smiled shyly and vanished behind the door as Lilly began to head in the direction she thought the classroom should be. But she soon started to silently curse, scolding herself for thinking that she would be able to find the classroom by herself. It felt like an hour had gone by, though she knew that was impossible, before she finally found the right room. The school was like a labyrinth.

Lilly waited next to the door as laughter and chattering sounded from the room. She glanced at her wrist watch and noticed there were only three minutes left until class would start. _What's taking Miley so long?_ She took in her surroundings. Beams of sunlight poured through the big windows, illuminating the hallway and the lockers in a bright, nearly white glimmer. Lilly recognized a boy, whose tall body was slammed against one of the lockers - one hand was tangled into his blonde hair, the other one clutching a cell phone. At the sight, Lilly felt a slight tingle in her stomach and she couldn't help but continue to stare. The bell rang and the boy removed his eyes from the display of his cell phone, catching her stare, and a bright smile formed on his lips. Lilly thought it was the cutest smile she'd ever seen. He pushed his body of the locker and strolled in her direction, causing Lilly to take a sharp intake of breath and clutch the strap of her bag tighter, suddenly not knowing what to do with her hands.

"You new?" he asked as he stood in front of her. Lilly nodded as an answer. "I'm Jake Ryan." He extended a hand. Lilly took a moment before accepting it, knowing that hers were always clammy whenever she was nervous. Jake arched one eyebrow and looked at her questioningly. Lilly didn't know why he was staring at her like that and let her hair fall down in front of her face. "And you are?"

_Oh, of course. My name! That's what he wants._ She knew this boy for less than a minute and had already managed to make a fool out of herself. How could she forget something so common as introducing herself?

"Who's that?" A girl with a cute rather than pretty face, and wearing tight jeans – which looked like she'd had to struggle to get into - approached Jake from behind and slung her arms around his waist, before Lilly was able to answer him. She felt her heart sink. _So he already has a girlfriend._

"Hey, 'Kayla. I don't know. She doesn't want to tell me," Jake said.

"Lilly Truscott!" Lilly shot out and regretted it immediately. "That's umm, my name."

Mikayla sent her a fake smile, her arms still slung around Jake's waist. Lilly was able to catch a glimpse of a big scar running down her temple before a few of her long, black strands fell over it as she cocked her head slightly to one side.

"Nice to meet you. Jake seems to like you. Maybe we become best friends, who knows?" She averted her eyes, looking at something behind Lilly, her brows suddenly furrowing. "What the heck is she doing here?" She sneered. "And oh my God. She's still wearing her nightclothes. Seriously, I've told you that girl has issues."

Curious about who they were talking about, Lilly threw a look over her shoulder. Miley was standing at the end of the hallway, staring nervously back at them and pulling at the bunch of keys that hung on a string around her neck. Lilly felt a hand grasp her shoulder and her eyes met with Mikayla's again. "Just some advice 'cause I like you - stay away from that girl. She is dangerous." The last word was said so quietly, Lilly wasn't sure if she'd understood her right.

_Dangerous? _Lilly frowned. She had a hard time believing that. But before she was able to question her, Mikayla and Jake turned away and vanished into the classroom.

Lilly heard the sound of soft footsteps approaching her and then a familiar voice with a thick southern drawl. "What did they want? Did they talk about me?" When Lilly turned around, Miley was staring at her, her eyes wide open and frowning. She looked like a cute little puppy, Lilly thought. Could someone so innocent looking be dangerous?

Lilly contemplated for a moment about telling her what Mikayla had said, but decided against it. She wasn't even sure if she'd just heard Mikayla correctly and she didn't want to hurt Miley under any circumstances. "They were talking about your... umm, shirt."

"Why? What's wrong with my -" Miley looked down. "Oh my God," she shrieked, slinging her arms around her upper body. "You shoulda told me I was still wearin' my pajama top!"

"I didn't know. I thought people maybe wore stuff like that in Tennessee."

"Right! And you still think we all play fiddle and do rodeo in our front yards, yeah! I don't believe it!" Annoyance laced her voice once again. Then she turned on her heels and broke into a run.

Lilly watched her quickly retreating form, completely lost. She didn't understand what she'd done wrong this time.

* * *

The classroom door opened witha screech, and a head appeared through the crack. The noises of pencils scratching over paper stopped abruptly and all heads shot up.

"You are late," the teacher said, not even bothering to look away from the chalkboard he was scribbling on.

Miley closed the door behind her, her eyes fixed on the floor. "Sorry, won't happen again."

Lilly recognized the yellow shirt that Miley now wore as the one they were supposed to wear in gym class. She also noticed the stares people were giving her. All eyes were glued on Miley as she made her way to the free desk in the last row, next to Lilly. A few people were throwing Miley disapproving glances, others were shaking their heads, and only a few seemed to be truly interested. Miley crashed on the seat next to her and heaved her backpack on the desk, not once looking at Lilly.

Lilly didn't know Mikayla, so why should she believe her? But on the other hand, Miley was also a stranger to her. She knew practically nothing about her, only a few of her hobbies. She liked playing guitar and singing - just the basic stuff they'd talked about via e-mail before she'd decided to do the student exchange. Lilly started to chew on the end of her pen. It tasted gross, but she was too absorbed in her thoughts to really mind. Those people were practically throwing daggers at Miley for no apparent reason.

"Taste good?" Lilly looked in the direction the voice came from. Miley had her elbows resting on the desk and her head was propped up on her hands. She sent her a smile, the tip of her tongue poking out between her teeth.

Miley didn't seem to be angry anymore and Lilly felt a weight lift from her chest. She didn't like it when Miley was annoyed with her. "Actually, yes. Kinda like my favorite flavor of ice cream."

Miley giggled. "Really? Let me see." She leaned over to Lilly and snatched the pen out of her hand, bringing it up to her mouth. Her lips closed around it as she started sucking. "Mmm, you're right. It tastes like pineapples. Your lip gloss?"

Lilly was frozen in shock for a moment, and then she gulped. "Y-yes."

Miley giggled again, waving the hand that held the pencil in front of Lilly's face. "Can I borrow it?"

Lilly only had one pen but nodded anyway before averting her gaze to the chalkboard. Maybe Mikayla was right. Miley did seem pretty strange and she didn't really know what to think of her yet.

As Miley and Lilly walked along the hallway after the class had ended, Oliver appeared among the tangle of students. Lilly waved to him and expected him to come over or at least greet her back. But instead, he came to an abrupt halt and stared at her for a moment with his eyes wide open, before turning around and walking back the way he'd come.

"Is it just my imagination or was Oliver ignoring me?" Lilly asked, adjusting the books in her arms.

"It's definitely your imagination."

Lilly hoped Miley was right. Maybe he'd forgotten something in the classroom and was heading back to get it.

Back in the hallway after math class, Lilly rested her right side against her locker as she watched Miley stuff her books into her own locker, tossing her gym clothes at her feet. "I'm so not looking forward to PE. You can't imagine," she groaned.

At that moment, Oliver sauntered past them and Lilly met his eyes again. Oliver's steps faltered and he seemed to tense before he jerked his head away, avoiding Lilly's gaze. "Did you see that? Oliver was ignoring me again. I wonder if I did something wrong." Her gaze tracked him until he vanished among the crowd.

"You clearly didn't. You shouldn't care about him." Miley slammed the locker door shut. "That's just how he is."

"How he is? What's that supposed to mean?"

Miley shrugged and leaned down to gather up her gym clothes. "Nothin'. I'm just saying you should get used to it 'cause he won't change."

Lilly couldn't believe that this was supposed to be the same sweet boy she'd met yesterday. But Miley had made it obvious. He was - there was no doubt about it - ignoring them on purpose. The question was: Why?


	4. Chapter 4

_Secrets_

_Chapter Four_

Great! There she was now, standing in the gymnasium, and surrounded by students who all wore the same yellow shirts and the short blue pants. Physical education on her very first day of high school - the day couldn't end worse, Miley was sure. Miley had always been awful at sports and she was convinced nothing could change that. That is, unless they started to teach horseback riding as a sport, which was an unlikely prospect. She watched Lilly stretching her arms behind her head, warming up like everyone else. At least they had this class together. Maybe she wouldn't get picked last when choosing teams anymore. The thought made her feel better about being in the class. Maybe physical education wouldn't be as bad as it used to be. After all, this wasn't middle school.

"I'm really happy, y'know that?" Miley said, after Lilly had finished warming up.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, and only 'cause you're here with me." Miley giggled and clung onto Lilly's arm, who stiffened immediately under her touch. "Thank you."

The corners of Lilly's lips lifted into an insecure smile. She was always a little surprised when people were nice to her, because she never expected it. She searched for an answer, but her mind stayed blank._ Thank you?_ But Miley had already said that. Lilly thought it would be weird to repeat the sentiment._ I'm also happy we have P.E. together? _That was true, but again it was nothing she would ever be able to say out loud._ Ugh!_ This was one of the moments where she cursed her slow mind and timidity.

Once the class was finished warming up, the teacher announced that they were to separate into pairs. Before Lilly knew what was happening, Mikayla had caught her arm in a tight grip, her long manicured fingernails digging painfully into her skin. Miley looked desperately after Lilly who could do nothing but shrug as she was being dragged across the field. "You don't want her as your partner," Mikayla said after she'd let go of Lilly.

"I actually do."

"Weren't you listening? She's a freak."

Lilly rubbed her arm where Mikayla's hand had gripped her tightly. Miley was definitely strange, but she wasn't a freak and she wasn't the one who had dragged her across the entire field against her will. "Could you please stop insulting her?"

Mikayla snorted in contempt. "So, you didn't hear about it?"

"No, what do you mean?"

"Doesn't matter. But you better trust me when I tell you she's dangerous."

Lilly looked back across the field. Everyone had divided into pairs, talking and laughing, and among them stood a solitary Miley. Her shoulders were hunched, eyes fixed on the floor, and Lilly felt a tug on her heart at the sight.

The coach blew his whistle and a shrill tone resounded, making everyone wince. He lifted his plumpy figure from the bench. Dark, blue circles were visible under his eyes. "How about soccer today?" He tried obviously to speak with élan, but the words left his mouth only halfheartedly. Mumbles of agreement sounded through the hall, and a few groans could be heard.

"Good. I absolutely hate it when students are difficult. Alright, the first team is going to play." His weary eyes wandered over the crowd of students. "Chelsea and Nancy," he pointed at a girl with tan skin, standing next to a girl with smooth blond hair, "Against... err... you with the brown hair."

Miley was sure her heart stopped beating for a moment. He was pointing at her, as much as she wished it wasn't true. "Me? But I've no partner."

"Oh. Really?" he looked surprised and scanned the crowd of students again. "You're right. We have an odd number of students today. Seems like you have to play on your own," he said, lowering himself clumsily onto the bench.

Miley looked at the two girls, who fixed her with narrowed eyes. "But-"

"No buts. I'm too tired for discussions. Play up! Take your place." He waved his hand dismissively at her, shooing her onto the field.

It was not like Miley had much time to think about what to do next, but she figured it would be best to remain in front of the goal. That way she could at least prevent the other team from scoring. She also had less chances of stumbling over her own feet, making a bigger fool out of herself than she already had.

Chelsea made the first shot. The ball flew halfway across the field, was well aimed, and hit Miley hard on the shoulder. She collapsed on her knees, her hand pressing against her shoulder as she struggled upwards and ground her teeth together. She swore she actually heard her bones break into pieces.

Mikayla snorted with laughter. "Did you see her face? That was hilarious," she said to no one in particular. Two boys, who apparently thought the same, started to laugh in agreement. Miley heard every single word of it, heard their mocking laughter, and she wasn't prepared for it. It felt like cold, bony fingers were closing around her heart, smashing it slowly and painfully. She knew they expected her to give up. They probably even hoped she would break down into tears, but she wouldn't show them that she was weak, that she felt like her worst nightmare had come true. Not this time.

Now she had no other choice but to leave the goal. Sneaker clad feet rolled the ball slowly across the field as Miley stumbled forward. She tried to aim the ball straight in front of her, but it moved sideways over and over again, no matter how hard she tried to work her way steadily forward. Chelsea waited, her arms crossed as if she didn't see Miley as a threat at all. Booing and laughing sounded around her and Miley ground her teeth harder together, leaving her jaw in pain. She tried desperately to fight back the tears that were welling up in her eyes but it was all in vain. Her vision was soon clouded with unshed tears. A voice in her head screamed she should keep going and not give up. She wanted to show them that they couldn't continue treating her this way. Everything around her blurred together as she stumbled forward, the students moving shadow-like along the field, and she was barely able to see the ball.

And then it happened. She fell.

Her hands, stretched out in front of her, collided with the ground. A sharp pain shot through her arms and they instantly gave away under her weight, causing her to land on her face and stomach. There was silence for a few moments, the only sound she could hear was her heart beating, and then laughter erupted around her.

Lilly could hardly believe what she had just witnessed. Nearly everyone was laughing at Miley, fingers pointing at the poor girl collapsed on the field. A boy across the hall imitated the fall and his friends gave each other high fives as they laughed at Miley's expense. How could they be so cruel? Miley had done nothing wrong. At least, that was what Lilly tried to believe. She wanted to run over and help her up, but her legs wouldn't move.

"Serves her right," Mikayla scoffed.

That was when Lilly felt her blood begin to boil. "What's wrong with you?" A baffled expression appeared on Mikayla's face as Lilly shoved her soccer ball angrily into Mikayla's hands and marched over to the coach.

"Err, Mr... ?" Great, she'd forgotten his name. The coach didn't even seem to notice Lilly, his eyes still glued to the open book in his lap. "Excuse me," she said, this time a little louder.

Finally he looked up, his eyes half closed. "What is it?"

"Miley. She's...?" Lilly didn't have to speak further as the teacher took notice of Miley, lying on the ground.

"Oh, didn't see that. What happened? Is she okay?" The slowness in which he dragged the words out indicated that he wasn't really interested in what happened.

_Of course she isn't okay. What a stupid question._ "Can I help her?" she asked when she realized the coach wasn't going to do anything but stare at Miley, sprawled on the field. He sighed and waved distractedly with a hand. That was enough for Lilly to dart over to Miley's side.

"Miley?" She knelt down next to her. "I'll help you, okay?"

Miley looked up, her eyes brimming with tears and her bottom lip quivering. Lilly felt the tug on her heart again, stronger than before. "I told you I'm bad at sports," Miley sniffled as a few tears escaped her eyes and trailed down her cheeks.

Lilly wanted to encourage her, but she wasn't sure exactly how to do that. "You're not bad. It's just that you're only one person and they're two, and they aren't even playing fair. But now I'm here and I'll help you."

Miley sent her a weak smile and blinked the tears away. "Thanks." Lilly helped her to her feet and they took their places on the field, Miley guarding the goal and Lilly in the middle. She stood face to face with Chelsea, the ball between them on the field.

Chelsea pursed her lips. "You're helping her? Why the heck are you helping her? Are you nuts?" she shrieked.

"Shut up and leave her alone," Lilly said without thinking and was surprised by her courage. Chelsea opened her mouth, about to retort, but a shrill whistle sounded, announcing the start of the match. In a second Lilly had snatched the ball away and shot with perfect aim across the entire field. Nancy was too surprised to react, and the ball hit the net as she stood frozen, her mouth ajar. A smirk made its way onto Lilly's face. This was where she felt the least self-conscious - on the playing field.

"You're a cheater!" Chelsea screamed, not paying attention to Nancy who had passed the ball to her. Lilly was there in a second, kicking the ball in the direction it came from and scoring a second goal.

The match progressed, with Lilly running all over the field, making one goal after the other. By the end, Chelsea was shooting daggers at her but Lilly could care less. Miley was sitting on the ground in front of the goal, giving her a thumbs up sign. She didn't smile, but seemed to be in much better condition, and that was everything that mattered at the moment.

Lilly's next kick was harder than she'd intended. She hit the goal post and the ball bounced off, hitting Chelsea in the face, causing her to stumble backwards. Lilly knew it was wrong to laugh, but she couldn't help herself as Chelsea's angry yells echoed across the field.

* * *

"You never told me you're that good at sports," Miley said. Class was over and they were walking down the hallway.

"I'm not that good. But I love soccer." Lilly answered, about to follow the other girls into the locker room. She came to a halt when she realized Miley wasn't following her anymore. "Are you coming?"

Miley shook her head. "I prefer to stay in my gym clothes."

"You really want to walk around the streets like this?" Lilly's gaze fell on the short shorts Miley was wearing. They didn't even cover half of her thighs.

"It's just umm... I don't think they want me in there," Miley stammered.

"Why! I know they were unfair but it will only get worse if you let them know it bothers you. Don't give them that power."

Miley shrugged and turned away, heading for the exit. Lilly stood there a moment, glancing to the door of the locker room, contemplating, before tossing her bag over her shoulder and heading to the double door Miley had just vanished behind. Lilly squinted her eyes as she stepped out of the building. Bright spots danced in front of her eyes and she couldn't see much before they adjusted to the bright light. Her gaze wandered over the school grounds. Everywhere she looked students were swarming out of the building, shoving each other, trying to get home as fast as they could, it seemed. Soon a crowd of students came through the door behind her, pushing her nearly down the stairs and Lilly struggled to hold her balance as her fingers closed around the iron railing. Soon she saw a flash of yellow and blue among them, long brown hair billowing behind._ There she is._ Lilly headed in Miley's direction, moving along with the tangle of other students.

After a while the crowd broke apart, scattering in different directions. "Miley! Please wait!" Lilly took after her. "Why are you running away?" Miley didn't answer as Lilly fell in step next to her. She kept staring into the distance, her lips slightly curved into a frown and pressed together. "Miley?" Lilly's voice was soft and Miley was still ignoring her. Lilly felt sorry for her and felt the desire to comfort her and hug her, but instead she linked their arms together and silently walked with Miley. The afternoon sun burned hot above them as they walked further down the road and she started to question her decision of linking their arms as Miley struggled to free herself. But instead of letting go completely she took Lilly's hand in hers and intertwined their fingers. Lilly gaped down at their hands and then at the side of Miley's face. She could see a small smile, now tugging on the corners of Miley's lips.

"Thanks for helpin' me. Now you must think I'm such a loser," Miley said weakly.

"No, I don't."

"Thanks and I'm sorry that I was so mean this mornin'. I guess I was just scared of going to school again."

Lilly sighed inwardly. She couldn't blame Miley after seeing how people had treated her. Now she understood why Miley had been home schooled. But why exactly were they treating her this way? It wasn't the first time the question came to her mind today. The glares people gave Miley in the classroom and then in the hallway, Mikayla telling her she is dangerous, Oliver ignoring them, and the bullies in gym class. Lilly wanted to ask her so many questions, to clear up the confusion in her head, but instead she just squeezed Miley's hand in a way she hoped would comfort her.


	5. Chapter 5

_Secrets_

_Chapter Five_

Lilly could vaguely make out dark shapes as she progressed her way to the stairs, her fingertips brushing along the rough wallpaper as she steadied her steps. It had still been dark outside when she'd woken up and she'd sensed it was late. A look at the clock on the nightstand had confirmed her assumption: midnight. Miley's bed had been empty and the pillows and the cover had been smooth as if no one had slept in it. Lilly couldn't remember if Miley said anything about sleeping in another room, but she would've been happy if she did. She hated sharing a room with someone she barely knew. And Miley hadn't said anything about going out either. At fifteen she was too young anyway, Lilly figured. So where was she?

A rustling sound came from the kitchen as Lilly slowly crept down the stairs. The door was completely open and light spilled out from the room. Next she heard a loud slam of the refrigerator door closing and then the clicking of heels on tiles. _Heels?_ Whoever was in there was, beyond any question, not Miley.

Lilly entered the kitchen and the sight in front of her caused her to stumble backwards and she collided with the edge of the door frame. Long blonde hair, a little tousled, framed a beautiful face. White trousers tightly hugged the hips of a slim body and a pink leather jacket was worn over a black v-neck shirt.

_Hannah Montana! _Lilly screamed inwardly. Her heart made one big thump against her chest before it sped up its beat. Hannah held a hotdog between her teeth, a bottle of water in one hand, and a chocolate bar in the other. Lilly blinked a few times, sure that Hannah - only an illusion, she thought - would disappear. But a couple of moments later she still stood there in the same paralyzed stance.

There was a short moment in which Hannah regarded her. Then all of a sudden she leapt forward with the intention to escape. She was only able to take a few steps forward before she fell, landing spread-eagle on her stomach and letting out a grunt. The grip around her water bottle loosened and it rolled in front of Lilly's feet. Lilly bent down and picked it up, watching as Hannah pushed herself up.

"Ouch." Hannah pressed the palm of her hand against her forehead. "That hurt," she moaned before their gazes met again and Hannah was once again frozen in her movement.

Lilly noticed blood trickling from Hannah's nose and over her lips and dripping down her chin. Her mind was still not fully awake and she was still convinced this was a dream as she reached out. Her fingers lingered on Hannah's cheek before brushing against her lips. She had to know if Hannah was real. As Hannah snapped her head aside Lilly was dragged back to the moment and she finally realized that this wasn't just a dream. Her heartbeat quickened once again as she looked down at her fingers and saw that they were smeared with the red sticky substance._ What's going on here?_ Her mouth opened but her thoughts didn't transform into words. It was like she'd suddenly lost the ability to speak.

Lilly watched as Hannah snatched the bottle out of her hand and collected the chocolate bar and hotdog from the floor, an expression of panic evident on her face the entire time. She ripped paper towels from a roll and fell down on her knees, wiping them furiously over the drops of blood that speckled the white tiled floor. She seemed to realize that it wasn't working as more blood dripped down her chin staining the floor anew, so she pressed the back of her hand against her nose, choking at the metallic taste in her mouth. Lilly had stepped away, the edge of the counter pressing into her lower back as she tried to stay out of Hannah's way. Hannah threw her another look before she stumbled out of the door.

Lilly didn't know how much time had passed before she regained her composure and walked over to the sink, turning the tap on absentmindedly. What just happened - could something that felt so real only be a dream?_ Maybe it wasn't a dream. Maybe it was a hallucination. _Her mind tried to explain the best it could, but nothing seemed to fit. She was totally going crazy, Lilly sighed inwardly. Hot water streamed over her hands, nearly burning her skin. It hurt. So she had to be awake, right? She watched the water, which had a light pink coloring to it, swirling down the sink and disappearing into the drain.

She looked up through the window in front of her. It was dark outside but there was a faint, eerie glow shining through the windows of the shed making it seem even more mysterious, nearly scary. Goose bumps erupted on her skin as a shiver ran through her body. The tile under her bare feet seemed colder with the hot water on her hands and she turned the water off. Why were the lamps on? Who was in there? Could it be Hannah Montana? But what was she doing there? All these thoughts ran through Lilly's mind and she tried to shake them away. She wouldn't give in to them. She wasn't insane. It had just been a dream and she'd woken up and come downstairs because she'd been thirsty. That is what Lilly decided had happened. She'd no other choice. Her brain wouldn't accept any other possibility.

When she returned to bed, Lilly had difficulty falling asleep. Her mind was running nonstop making sleep an impossibility, and when the morning came she felt like she'd slept less than five hours. Her hands rose to her face to groggily rub her eyes and when the events of last night infiltrated her mind, she quickly sat up in bed, locking eyes with Miley who was sitting crossed-legged on top of her sheets. Miley made a weak smile, blue circles visible under her eyes. "Where were you last night?" Lilly asked drowsily.

"Of course here in my bed, sleepin'. Why do you ask?"

_Because that's where you definitely weren't._ "You look tired."

"I'm not tired," Miley said before her mouth opened for a long yawn.

Lilly cocked an eyebrow at her, causing Miley to smile foolishly. "Okay, I'm a sleepwalker. Happy?"

It was obvious that Miley was lying, but she knew there was nothing she could do. "I had a weird dream last night," Lilly said after a moment.

"Really? Wanna tell me 'bout it?"

"It felt so…so real. Hannah Montana was in the kitchen, stealing food, and then she fell." Lilly shook her head in disbelief. "If I didn't know any better I would say it had actually been real. Can you believe that?"

"Hannah pigging out in my kitchen? For sure no!" Miley's tone was mocking.

"I know. It-It sounds really weird," Lilly stuttered, suddenly regretting telling Miley about it. "And it's not like it's the first time I've dreamt about her. It was just different this time. I would love to meet her in person, you know?"

A meaningful smile curved Miley's lips. "Who knows? Maybe you'll get the chance someday."

When Miley left for the bathroom, Lilly's thoughts were still occupied with her dream. Her gaze fell down to her hands and she noticed a brown substance was stuck under her fingernails. She sharply drew in a breath of air. It looked exactly like dried blood.

* * *

Lilly watched in amusement as Miley rummaged through her locker at the end of the hallway, her head vanishing into the depths of it with a few books or some junk occasionally being dropped to her feet. That wasn't what she'd expected from her. Miley's locker looked more like her locker back home. Here she had tried to make a good impression, stacking the books neatly into one pile. But now she saw that it hadn't been necessary.

Mikayla appeared through the door behind Miley - Chelsea, Nancy and Jake tailing a step behind her. Lilly held her breath unintentionally as she started to contemplate what she was going to do if they started bullying Miley again. But they walked past her, and only a disapproving glance on the part of Mikayla was thrown in Miley's direction. Lilly groaned when she realized they were heading towards her.

"Hi, Lilly," Mikayla said after she'd come to a halt in front of her.

Lilly sent her a short, not entirely sincere smile. She wished she could just ignore her, but she knew that wasn't an option. Her bag lay at her feet and there was nothing else she could hold onto, so she just grabbed the hem of her shirt, her fingers curling around it nervously.

"Who are you waiting for?" Mikayla asked.

Lilly glanced from Mikayla to Miley's distant form, considering if she should mention Miley, not sure if they would change their mind and head back to insult her. "I'm waiting for Miley," she said finally.

"Really?" Mikayla's eyebrows went up. "You wouldn't wait for her if you knew that she's visiting a psychotherapist, would you?" Mikayla seemed to realize Lilly's baffled look, because she continued. "She only goes at night, so no one will see her."

Lilly was about to break into laughter before she remembered the night she'd woken up, finding an empty bed where Miley should have been sleeping and then meeting Hannah Montana. She contemplated the thought for a moment before she dismissed the idea. That was stupid. How could she even consider for a second that it could be true? "Why would she go to one?"

"God, I told you. Because she's a freak. I don't know if you already noticed but..." Mikayla tugged the strand of hair that had fallen over her temple behind her ear, causing the scar to appear. "Miley. She did that to me. Like one and a half years ago."

"No." Lilly shook her head rapidly from side to side, trying to shake the words that had left Mikayla's mouth away. "She wouldn't do something like that."

"Oh yeah, she would. We saw how she did it," Nancy said. "Actually a lot of people saw it. Ask around if you don't believe us."

Lilly's grip tightened around the hem of her shirt, fingernails digging through the fabric into her palm. "No," she said again, not wanting to believe that Miley was capable of doing something so gruesome. She looked past Mikayla, seeing Miley now standing next to her closed locker and staring back. Lilly's eyes snapped to Mikayla again, looking at her intently as though she was trying to read her mind, to find out if she was telling the truth or not. Jake had his hand placed on Mikayla's shoulder, his features stricken with sympathy. It seemed like everyone believed Mikayla, like everyone was convinced Miley was the bad one. "I can't believe that," Lilly said._ I don't want to believe it._

"Okay, it's your decision," Mikayla snapped. "But when she tries to do the same thing to you, don't blame me. I tried to warn you." She reached for her shoulder and took Jake's hand before proceeding down the hall.

* * *

"I need a locker that's way bigger," Miley complained on the way to science class. "For all my books, pen cases, gym clothes, an' Beary. I wanna have him with me for the next exam. He brings luck. Do you have a good luck charm, Lils?"

Lilly just shook her head in response. She was still too shocked by Mikayla's accusation to answer.

"No? Well, I've a lot of stuffed animals. You can choose one and that will be your new lucky charm if you like," Miley said, chuckling.

Lilly struggled to put a smile on her face. Maybe Miley wasn't as nice as she seemed. The image of a baby bear popped into her mind - clumsy and cute on the outside but it still had sharp teeth and claws you could easily forget about. No one would imagine it being a threat.

"Or we could search the farm for a four-leaf clover," she continued. "What're ya thinkin'?"

"I don't know," Lilly mumbled, too caught up in her thoughts to pay attention. This trip to Tennessee had been weird right from the beginning, and so was Miley. She could still book a flight home today. That would take her far and away from this whole mess. But she wasn't sure if she wanted to leave. After all, she liked the girl walking next to her - even her strangeness was likeable.

"Daddy doesn't believe in good luck charms either... Says a man who has a rabbit paw on his key ring." Miley sputtered out a giggle and laid a hand on Lilly's arm, sending a jolt of electricity through her and Lilly reacted like she would've if she'd been in danger, jerking away from Miley. Miley stopped. "What's wrong with you today? Did I do somethin' that bothered you or said somethin' that offended you?"

That wasn't it. Not quite, anyway. "Someone told me..." Lilly hesitated. She couldn't tell Miley about Mikayla. She wanted answers, but she didn't want to risk hurting Miley. Miley already had enough trouble with most of the students at school. "Everything is fine."

"N-No." All the blood was suddenly drained from Miley's face. "Mikayla. Am I right? What has she told ya?"

"Nothing. I haven't talked to her. I can't even stand her." At least the last part was true.

"But I saw you both talkin' when I was at my locker."

_Oh, yeah! Great, how could I forget about that? _She sensed there was no point in lying anymore. She had to tell Miley, whether it hurt her or not. "Mikayla, well, she told me you were dangerous and she kinda blamed you for her scar." Lilly ran her hand through her long, sandy colored hair, waiting for Miley's reaction.

"I knew it! You don't believe her, do ya?" It was more of a plea than a question.

"Of course not. But..."

"B-But what?" Miley hugged the books she was carrying tighter against her chest.

"It seems like nearly every sophomore acts strange around you. Not only Mikayla. And some are even really nasty."

"Yeah, it's quite obvious, isn't it? But there's a reason for it. It's just... complicated. I swear I'll tell you sometime. Just not now. I can't... Just promise me you won't listen to Mikayla."

"I promise," Lilly said. The truth was she could barely believe her own words.

* * *

Lilly's head was lying on her desk, her arms dangling over the edges. She didn't even try to look like she was interested in what Mrs. Kunkle scribbled on the chalkboard. She'd stopped paying attention once the bell had rung. She hated science and it seemed like she wasn't the only one who thought so. Two boys a few rows across from her were talking and the girl sitting in front of her was putting on nail polish. Lilly couldn't see it but she knew it by the sharp smell stinging her nostrils. Her gaze fell on her own nails. Most of the black nail polish was already chipped off. She'd wanted to put on new polish before leaving Malibu - pink or something glittery like her mom had suggested, something that made her seem more girly and less like a skater - but then she'd had so much stress with packing her luggage and racking her brain with all the terrible possibilities of how the trip could turn out, that she'd forgotten about it.

Lilly's thoughts were interrupted when a paper flew by her head and landed with a rustle on her desk between her arms. Lilly looked in the direction it had come from and was met with Miley, who winked at her while twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Lilly turned away in confusion and opened the neatly folded paper. 'I miss you.' was written in Miley's girly handwriting. What was that about? Lilly didn't know what she was supposed to write back, what Miley expected her to write back.

'I'm sitting right next to you.' She jotted down after a few seconds of thinking. Her fist closed around the paper, forming it into a ball, before she threw it back.

A moment later the paper landed on her desk again. 'You're right! I didn't notice. Maybe still too far away? ;) Anyway, all my relatives are visiting us next week. Aunt Dolly can't wait to meet you.'

Lilly groaned inwardly. _Oh God, please no. _More strangers she had to talk to. Then she pressed the tip of her pencil against the paper. 'Cool! Can't wait to meet them.' And threw it again to Miley.

Lilly heard Miley snicker softly and then the scratching of pencil over paper before the paper hit her against the arm and fell to the floor. Lilly bowed down to retrieve it, in the process throwing a glance to the chalkboard. Mrs. Kunkle still had her back turned to the class so she definitely hadn't noticed their exchanging of notes yet. She unfolded the paper and read: 'Ha ha, you're a bad liar. ;) I saw you scrunch up your face when you read my note and I know you don't like meeting new people. You're soooo silly and cute.' A heart was drawn under it.

Lilly was about to jot down her answer, denying that she was scared, when she heard someone clearing her throat. It came from her right, but she was sure it wasn't Miley. Lilly risked a glance and flinched inwardly as two small piercing eyes bored right into hers. Mrs. Kunkle stood next to her desk, when just a second ago she'd still been writing on the chalkboard. That was creepy, Lilly thought. How had she moved that fast from one end of the room to the other?

"I saw Miley throw a paper on your desk. Where is it?" Mrs. Kunkle asked.

Lilly's fingers curled tighter around the piece of paper. The things they'd written were something she'd like to keep private. "I-I don't know."

"Don't you think everyone should have the right to hear what important things you and Miley have to tell each other that can't wait until class is over?" she asked.

"It's probably a love letter," a boy yelled, but Lilly couldn't see who it was. Suddenly, students started to whisper throughout the room.

_A what? Where did this came from? _Then she remembered the heart and everything else Miley had written. _Okay, it probably could pass as one. Dang it!_

Mrs. Kunkle extended her hand, her palm upwards as if she was waiting for Lilly to give her the paper. She was going to humiliate them in front of the whole class! Not knowing what to do, Lilly shot a glance at Miley. Pure horror was visible on her face as she shook her head, her mouth forming the word 'no' silently.

Before Lilly could think any further, she stuffed the piece of paper into her mouth and began chewing on it. Laughter echoed through the class. _Oh no!_

"Lilly!" Mrs. Kunkle exclaimed outraged, her lips pressed together, her eyes big. She reminded Lilly of a toad - an extremely ugly, big toad that was going to jump at her and swallow her with one bite. "Go to the princ-"

The bell rang, interrupting Mrs. Kunkle's outburst. Chairs screeched immediately over the floor as they were pushed back and Lilly jumped out of her seat, rushing past Mrs. Kunkle to follow the other students out of the classroom. Her gaze was glued to the floor as she shoved herself into the crowd that was gathered in the hallway. She spit the chewed paper into the next trash can.

"Thanks. That was really nice an' brave."

Lilly turned around at the sound of Miley's voice. "Most of all, it was just stupid," she groaned, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. She wished that would've been the last class for today and she could just go back to the farm now.

"It was necessary," Miley said. "If she'd read it out loud, I dunno what would've happened."

It would've been terrible, Lilly was sure. "You're right. And Mrs. Kunkle is creepy. I hope she won't give me detention next period. Maybe there's hope-"

Lilly was cut off when a boy who was wearing a baseball hat suddenly pulled at the hood of her sweatshirt. "You should be careful," he said to her before throwing a stern look at Miley and then proceeding his way down the hallway.

Lilly stood still for a moment, blinking in confusion. "Anyway," she continued. "I hope she has already forgotten about it before next science class."

Miley frowned. "I'm sorry. It's my fault.""

"It's not, okay. How could it be your fault when some boys have screwed up minds?" Miley writing her love letters, humph. What gave him that idea? Mikayla and Miley were definitely not the only ones that were a little strange. That had to be a Tennessee thing.


	6. Chapter 6

_Secrets_

_Chapter Six  
_

Nearly two weeks had gone by since Lilly had arrived in Tennessee. Oliver was still ignoring them whenever they passed him in the hallway and she noticed that he also seemed to be friends with Mikayla and Jake, occasionally sitting with them at lunch. There had been a day in which she had accidentally bumped into him and he'd smiled at her. It had only been a hint of a smile though and it disappeared as fast as it had come, causing her to wonder if it had been real or just her imagination.

And the rest of the students, well, they were still nasty. Not as bad as in gym class, but still... Lilly found herself getting extremely angry whenever they threw Miley a disapproving look or even if they stared a little too long at her. The more time she spent with Miley, the more it became clear to her - Miley couldn't be the bad one. She was too nice and caring.

Once school was out for the day, Lilly found herself walking along the streets with Miley, chatting and laughing as they made their way home. She had never felt more at home than she did now.

"Miley, isn't that Oliver behind us?" Lilly asked once she noticed the distant figure walking behind them.

Miley didn't turn around. "Yep. I called him yesterday and invited him over for dinner. We do that all the time."

"Oh. Shouldn't we wait for him then, so he can catch up with us?"

"Nah, he could do that if he wanted to," Miley said flatly.

It seemed like Oliver was trying to walk extra slow - his hands stuffed into his pockets as he trailed behind them, occasionally kicking against some stones, causing them to fly into the fields that lined the road. Why didn't he want to walk with them?

They had been waiting a couple of minutes, sitting upstairs on the window sill and watching the bird's nest in the tree, when Oliver entered their room.

"Hey, guys. Long time no see."

_Is he kidding?_" Why are you avoiding us at school?" Lilly asked, walking towards him.

"Didn't Miley tell you why?" he asked surprised.

"No, she didn't explain anything." Lilly shot a questioning glance at Miley. Miley's features were stricken with worry and she cast her eyes away when she realized Lilly was looking at her. "Miley?"

Miley straightened herself and exhaled a sigh. "Y'know, it's 'cause of... it's 'cause of Mikayla."

Had Mikayla told Oliver the same things about Miley she'd told her? Had Oliver believed her? Lilly's head had been hurting for the past few days, full of questions about Oliver and Mikayla, and now she felt like her brain was going to explode if she didn't get an explanation soon. "You kinda promised to explain why Mikayla and the others bully you."

"Well, there's this rumor..." Miley wavered. "She made it up."

"The scar. That's the rumor, isn't it? Why would she spread something like that around?"

"Yeah, maybe it's part of it." Miley said, sagging down on the end of her bed. "And I'm sorry. I know I promised to explain it to you, but I can't."

"But -"

Miley shook her head. "No, Lilly."

If Miley didn't want to tell her then she was going to ask Oliver now that he was here. "Okay, if you think that's best for you, I won't bother you anymore."

A smile spread over Miley's lips, apparently relieved to hear that Lilly had dropped the topic. "You ain't botherin' me. That's totally impossible."

Lilly ignored Miley's last statement and turned to Oliver. "Why are you ignoring us?" she asked softly.

Oliver threw a quick glance towards Miley, whose gaze was suddenly glued to her shoes, before he answered. "Like Miley said. It's 'cause of Mikayla. Maybe you've noticed it already but Mikayla doesn't treat her very nicely."

Lilly raised an eyebrow at him. _You think?_

"Well, Mikayla spread a rumor and unfortunately now everyone at school believes her. I have to admit, I would too if I hadn't been friends with Miley since elementary school. I know her too well. I know that she would never ever do, well, something like that. And the things Mikayla tells about her are anything but harmless."

_Something like that? What do you mean?_

"About why I'm ignoring you guys," he continued, and Lilly noticed the hesitation in his voice. "Being friends with Miley means you'll get bullied too. Even if you're just hanging out with her, they'll start sooner or later. My friends called me a traitor when I was still friends with her at school, and Jake even threatened me. Of course I didn't want to lose my friends, even though I know it's not right to ignore Miley." He crossed his arms over his chest. "You have to understand."

Did that mean they would start to bully her too? Lilly wondered as the familiar sensation of anxiety settled in her chest. Oliver wasn't the one to blame. It was Mikayla. Lilly wanted to help Miley, but she knew she couldn't do that if she didn't know the reason for Mikayla's behavior. "Why is Mikayla telling me you're dangerous?" Her voice was quite and she hoped that this time she wouldn't be the one being too intrusive. Oliver walked over to the window and sat on the sill.

Lilly noticed Miley's face twitch before she finally met her eyes. "She tries to convince you that I'm not worth being befriended. She did it with everyone else, 'cause she doesn't want anyone hangin' out with me. Isn't that obvious?"

"Yes." Lilly moved her weight from one foot to the other as she regarded Miley. It was really hard to get information out of her. "But why exactly does she want that?"

"Why? The rumors ain't true of course!" Miley shouted, and Lilly winced. "She's lyin' to everyone and doesn't want anyone to find out the truth, that's why." Miley groaned, falling backwards on the top of her bed, one arm draped over her eyes.

Lilly still didn't understand everything from what Miley and Oliver had told her. If anything she was more confused than before, but at least she was sure that Miley was innocent. "I- I don't understand. What happened?" When Miley didn't answer, Lilly sat next to her on the bed and was about to put her hand on her shoulder before her shyness took over and she withdrew. "Miley?"

"I wanna be alone," was Miley's grumpy response before she rolled over on her stomach, away from Lilly.

"Can I talk to you?" Oliver asked Lilly. She hadn't realized that he had moved and was now standing in the doorway, waiting for her response. Could it be that he wanted to tell her what Miley wanted to keep a secret, what the rumors were about? She followed him into the hallway and he closed the door behind them.

"I wanted to know if you would like to go out with me." Oliver's eyes switched to the floor and then back to Lilly. "On a date," he added hesitantly.

"Oh." Lilly hoped he didn't see that she was disappointed. She was about to say 'no,' but closed her mouth before the word came out. It was always the same. Every time a boy asked her out on a date, she rejected him with some lame excuse. Or she would promise to call back, only to throw their phone numbers into the nearest trashcan. She'd always been afraid of something, but didn't know what it was. But not this time, she thought. She liked Oliver a lot and she wanted to risk it. "Okay," she said, smiling. "I'd love to."

"Really? I mean, cool." He brought a hand to his neck and rubbed it nervously. "So, I call you then?"

"Yes." She hoped she wasn't going to regret her decision, feeling suddenly a little uneasy. "And Miley -"

"No." He held a hand up to stop her. "I promised her I wouldn't tell you anything, and I won't."

"I wasn't going to ask you about that. I wanted to know if she would be okay with, well... us? After all, you two are friends," Lilly said.

He shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know," he said, a little uncertain. "We don't have to tell her, you know?"


	7. Chapter 7

_Secrets_

_Chapter Seven  
_

Hands grasped tightly around the wooden railing of the front porch, knuckles turning white with the strength of her grip. It was a good spot to observe Miley's family and no one seemed to take note of the girl who was half-hidden behind a pillar. Below her was a man sitting cross-legged under a tree, one hand strumming the strings of a guitar as he roughly sang along, his voice laced with a heavy southern drawl. Most of the family stood in small groups or had seated themselves already, chatting over their overflowing plates. A long table had been placed in front of the house, on which sat bowls filled to the rim with various liquids, mostly red ones, and plates stacked with pies and cakes. This was how Lilly had always imagined a southern party would be.

A cool wind swept over the front porch, gently blowing her hair back, and the fresh smell of damp leaves and grass reached her nose, mixed with the delicious smell of cinnamon and pudding. It reminded her of autumn, the short time she'd been away from the sunny and warm Malibu and experienced the season.

"Why are you standin' around like that? C'mon." Miley stepped out of the front door and took hold of Lilly's hand, pulling her to the steps.

"Miles, wait." Lilly wrenched her hand free of Miley's grasp. The reason she'd been standing there all alone was simple: she was scared. "I'm not sure if I can go down there. What am I supposed to do if they don't like me?"_And what am I going to talk to them about? I'll definitely stutter and they'll think I'm retarded._

"Miles, huh? You gave me a nickname."

"Seems like it." She hadn't noticed. And that wasn't exactly the answer she'd hoped for. All she wanted was a little encouragement. "If you don't like it..."

"Don't be stupid. That's really sweet of you." Miley took a step forward and grabbed the hem of Lilly's shirt, smoothing it down. "And my relatives would be crazy not to like you," she said, locking eyes with Lilly in a long stare. Lilly noticed for the first time how shiny and lively Miley's eyes were and wondered how she could have missed it this whole time. Now they held a warm sparkle of excitement. "You look great. You don't have to worry about anythin'. Now c'mon." Her fingers closed around Lilly's hand again and this time Lilly didn't pull back when Miley dragged her down the front porch and led her to the long table with food. At least she didn't have to face Miley's entire family alone.

"Hungry? What do ya think?" Miley asked.

"Yummy, yummy."

Miley giggled at Lilly's childish remark. "You can eat whatever you want and however much you want. But not the punch." She pointed to one of the bowls that was filled with the red liquid. "They look tasty but they're spiked with alcohol and daddy wouldn't allow that. And could you wait here for a second? I forgot somethin' inside." Miley said and headed back to the house.

Lilly didn't know where to start. There was so much she wanted to eat - except the punch, she reminded herself. She finally decided on the cream cake as she rolled a piece of it around in her mouth, closing her eyes and concentrating on the sweet taste of cream that melted on her tongue. When she opened her eyes again she noticed a woman stalking across the farm in high heels. She looked like she was middle-aged and had bleached-blonde, teased hair. Lilly watched her curiously until she realized she was heading towards her.

"Hi! I'm Aunt Dolly and you must be Lilly!" the woman nearly cheered.

Lilly 'uh-huhed' as her answer, desperately trying to swallow the cake in her mouth.

"When Miley called me she talked nonstop about you and I wanted to meet the girl that made my niece so happy. She really likes you a lot."

Lilly felt the heat radiating from her face and she didn't know why it made her feel embarrassed to know that Miley had talked about her to this woman.

"What about you? I don't want to seem too nosy." Aunt Dolly laughed. "But from what she told me you two seem very close."

Lilly looked down at the half-eaten piece of cake on her plate. _Close? _It sure didn't feel that way to her. What had Miley told Aunt Dolly? She rubbed her sticky fingers together, cleaning them of the crumbs and sugary icing that nearly glued them together. "Well, she's nice... like very."

"That's wonderful, 'cause I can ensure that she really, I mean really, likes you," Aunt Dolly said. "Oh, there she comes." She winked at Lilly and ripped a few grapes from the bunch on the table before turning away. Lilly watched her stroll over to a group of people while she absentmindedly shoved half of the cake into her mouth. That was a weird conversation.

"I've something for you I'm sure you might like," Miley's voice came from behind and Lilly turned around as Miley waved a purple ticket in front of her face.

"What's that?" Lilly mumbled through her mouthful of cake.

"I know that you're a fan of Hannah Montana..." Miley stopped briefly and Lilly's heart fluttered in anticipation. "And that's why I got you a concert ticket!" she shouted.

Lilly stared at her, her mouth wide open and full of half-chewed cake. "You did?"

"Yeah, I did! And - eww! Please close your mouth."

Lilly swallowed the cake and wrapped her arms around Miley, pressing her cheek against the brunettes. "Thank you so, so much." She let go of her. "That's just...wow. I don't know what to say. When are we going?"

"You're going in three days. I'm not comin'."

"What? Why?"

"I just can't. I'm busy."

"But you have to. I mean, it's Hannah Montana," Lilly stressed her name. "She's awesome. I've seen a few live concerts on TV and she's absolutely stunning."

"Aww, thank you."

"Huh?"_ What was that?_

"Err... thank you for wanting me with you at the concert, but I really, really can't. I'm sorry."

Once everyone had taken their seats around the long table in front of the house, the party really started. There was a plump man with a mustache seated on the opposite side of the table next to Miley. They'd introduced him to Lilly as Uncle Earl. He grinned at her and she wriggled around in her seat, feeling tense and uncomfortable. It wasn't just Uncle Earl - she had the feeling that everyone else seemed to be interested in what she was currently doing. It seemed like they were watching her every move, how she - the girl from the distant and extraterrestrial state named California - was eating, holding her fork, even how many bites she needed to finish the piece of cake on her plate. All of this was just too much and Lilly hunched over, trying to hide from the stares and bury her fear with her third slice of cream cake, pushing the slight uneasiness in her stomach aside. Miley had said she could eat as much as she wanted so she figured it had to be okay and besides, no one else seemed to like the cake.

Many slices of cake and unpleasant stares later, Lilly had the strong desire to lie down and she leaned forward, her forehead nearly touching the table. The slight sensation of uneasiness in her stomach had progressed into a strong feeling of sickness and she regretted that she'd stuffed herself with so much food. She could've bared the stares better than this.

"Are you sick? You look pale," Lilly heard Miley ask from across the table.

"I'm fine," Lilly pressed out, gagging on her words. That was the moment her stomach turned over. "Uh, or maybe not." She lurched up and reached the tree before she doubled over and threw up. When she turned around everyone was staring at her, some of them were – Lilly guessed by the expression on their faces - clearly disgusted. Miley was the only one who had stood up and was only a few steps away from her. Lilly closed her eyes and rested the back of her head against the tree. Despite the fact that she still felt weary a strong desire to run away jolted through her body. Miley and her family weren't supposed to see her like that, so mortified. But there was no point in running away. She knew that she had to come back sooner or later and that was going to make everything more awkward than it already was. So she just remained in this position, cursing herself and hoping for some kind of miracle that would beam her away and make everything undone.

"She didn't drink from the punch I hope?" Lilly heard Robbie Ray asking Miley after he'd approached her.

Lilly hadn't. She didn't like the taste of alcohol. And she was standing not far away from him. He could've asked her.

"I dunno. I told her not to."

"Okay, we'll see. But for now it's best if you get her inside."

Miley draped an arm over Lilly's shoulder and led her into the house. Upstairs, Lilly sat on the edge of her bed and Miley handed her a glass filled with orange juice, a worried expression plastered on her face. Lilly took the glass and swallowed it in one greedy gulp. She regretted it immediately as she had to fight back the nausea that filled her stomach once again. "Did you drink from the punch?" Miley asked as she sat down next to Lilly, taking the glass out of her hand.

"No, of course not." Lilly was offended that Miley didn't trust her. "I just ate too much cake I guess."

"I didn't think you did, if that's what you're thinking. It's not the first time somethin' like that happened. A few years ago it was daddy's turn. Most of the food isn't ours, and I dunno who baked all of that nasty stuff…Do you feel better? Want to come downstairs again?"

"I'd rather not." She felt a little better but preferred to stay away from Miley's family from now on. Just thinking about what had happened a few minutes ago made her want to bang her head against a hard surface until all of those utterly mortifying thoughts were banished from her mind. Her gaze fell on the wall next to her. It looked good for doing that - pretty hard. "I want to go home," she added.

"What? You can't go home. I wouldn't allow that." Miley squealed. As to support her statement she took hold of one of Lilly's hands and placed it between her own in her lap. "Is it 'cause of me? Don't you like me at all?"

"What?" Lilly held her breath for a second at the stupidity of the question. Was it really so unclear that she liked her? She wasn't very fond of Miley being so touchy-feely towards her, nor had she told her how much she actually cared about her. But she'd always assumed Miley would see that she was trying to defend her against the bullies at school. But maybe that wasn't enough. Lilly contemplated for a moment if she should tell Miley how she felt about her and then the words spilled automatically over her lips. "Miles, I like you... a lot. I'm so glad I met you and... and I'm glad to be here."

Lilly looked down at her lap. Now she'd said it. She didn't know how she'd managed it, but she did. She kicked her legs back and forth, the rubber soles of her shoes dragging over the carpet as she waited for a reaction from Miley. A long time passed where Miley didn't answer and Lilly started to think she'd made a mistake in telling her, but then a hot breath touched her cheek, stirring a strand of hair that had fallen over her face. Lilly turned her head and was startled to find Miley's face only inches away from her own.

Her blue eyes were glossy as if she was about to cry. "Thank you so much," she whispered hoarsely and for a moment Lilly thought Miley was going to lean in and kiss her on the lips, but then she turned away and drew herself up.

_Miley would never... No._ Lilly gulped loudly. Then why was she feeling so nervous all of the sudden? No, it was more than that. She was scared of something, but couldn't really figure out what it was. Lilly let herself fall backwards on the bed, before turning over on her stomach and crawling to her pillow, head burrowing deep down into it and her_ Converse _covered feet dangling over the edge of the mattress.

Suddenly she felt a tug on her right shoe and a moment later it was pulled from her foot. "What are you doing?" Lilly mumbled into the pillow. Then two hands closed around her left shoe.

"Sorry, I thought you were going to get some rest." Miley sounded startled and then hesitated for a second. "I don't want your sheets to get dirty."

"Oh." Lilly sat up, not feeling quite comfortable with Miley touching her, even though she knew one part of her liked Miley's caring attitude. "It's okay," she said, stripping the shoe from her foot and letting it drop to the floor. "I really want to stay upstairs and maybe relax a little." Though she was pretty sure she couldn't after this dreadful family meeting.

Miley went over to the door. "I hope you feel better soon and please don't go home."

"I won't," Lilly promised before Miley closed the door, leaving her alone.


	8. Chapter 8

_Secrets_

_Chapter Eight_

Earthquake. That was the first thought that entered Lilly's mind as she woke up. It felt like everything was turning upside down and she was falling. Then she was surrounded by darkness, her head spinning, while her body rotated in weightlessness. She felt powerless to stop it.

"Wake up." A distant voice penetrated into the depths of her mind before she was shaken violently again. Lilly groaned and her eyes fluttered open, meeting Miley's blue ones. Miley was standing next to her bed, bent forward with her hands pushing down on Lilly's shoulders, holding her in place.

"You are not easy to wake, y'know that? And I always thought I was the sleepyhead." Miley laughed throatily.

Lilly's head was spinning. "Oh God." She pulled the covers over her head, letting out a groan when Miley pulled them back down and started to shake her again. She squeezed her eyes shut. But then Miley stopped and she figured she'd given up, when suddenly there was a weight pressing down on her stomach. Her eyes shot open again, revealing Miley, who was now lying on top of her.

"Now c'mon. Get up."

The queasy feeling returned to Lilly's stomach and she closed her eyes again. "I'm not feeling well."

"You're just tired. C'mon." Miley stirred and Lilly thought she was going to throw up again.

"What're ya doin' there?" A deep voice cut her off. Robbie Ray stood in the doorway, his hand clasped tightly around the door handle as his eyes skipped from Lilly to Miley."Get ready for school." A deep crease formed between his eyebrows.

Miley looked up at him with big, round eyes. "Daddy -"

"I want ya to get off of her. Do you understand me?"

Miley leapt up like a scared little deer that was about to be attacked by a wolf. She grabbed her clothes off the bed and quickly brushed past Robbie Ray.

Lilly's eyes followed her as she vanished trough the door. She wasn't sure what had just happened. Robbie Ray exhaled in a loud sigh and walked over to her, offering her a tired smile. "Are you still feelin' sick?"

Lilly answered with a nod. She wanted to avoid talking to him and the rest of Miley's relatives as long as possible.

"It's for sure food poisonin'. I got it last year when I ate a piece of Uncle Earl's cream cake. It was a pretty big piece, but anyway I shoulda warned ya... You don't have to go to school today of course."

No school? That meant Miley had to go by herself. She felt bad about that, but there was nothing she could do. She felt so sick that just the thought of getting up terrified her.

As Robbie Ray left she heard a door open, what she thought belonged to the bathroom, and shortly after heard his deep demanding voice. "What do you think you were doin' in there?"

"Wakin' her up." That was Miley.

"That's all?"

"Yes, I swear."

"I'm sorry, bud. I was just shocked at first. Y'know, 'cause of what happened with you and Mikayla. I just don't want it to happen again." He sounded relieved. "I told Lilly she doesn't have to go to school today, just so you know." Lilly peered through the crack of the door, but was only able to see Miley's long wavy hair, settled against her back. "Now hurry up. You don't want to be late."

"If Lilly's not goin', I won't either." Her voice was loud and shook slightly.

"Miley Ray Stewart."

Lilly had the feeling that things were getting a bit tense in the other room.

"I won't go."

"I allowed the student exchange 'cause you promised me you'd go to school. But now you're tellin' me you won't?"

"That's 'cause of Mikayla and - and Chelsea and all of them."

Lilly tried to push herself up to take a better look at them, but as soon as she sat up her stomach started to twist around once again. She let herself fall back into the soft cushions.

"That's not a proper reason. This is the only high school in the county. Of course they're there. And you knew it right from the beginnin'. I told ya it would be a bad idea."

"I didn't know that they would still be rude. It's been over a year. I thought maybe they would have forgotten about what had happened –"

Robbie Ray's harsh voice cut Miley off. "I don't care what you thought. You're goin', no matter what!"

"No, I'm not!" Miley yelled. Her voice trembled and Lilly couldn't tell if she was crying or not. She felt sorry for her again, like she had so often in the last few days. "And stop embarrassin' me in front of Lilly."

"Fine." She caught a glimpse of Robbie Ray through the crack of the door before it slammed shut.

* * *

Lilly blinked her eyes open, unaware she had fallen asleep, and her eyes landed on a glass of water standing on the nightstand that hadn't been there before. She ignored it and was about to close her eyes and drift off to sleep again when she heard the muffled vocals of Hannah Montana from somewhere in the house. There was no background music, only the voice.

Figuring there had to be a show or concert by Hannah Montana playing somewhere, she became curious and dragged her legs as fast as she was able to out from beneath the warm covers. At first she assumed it was the TV, but as she neared the living room she stopped, realizing the voice she'd just heard sounded from the kitchen.

Lilly was surprised to find Miley bent over the table, cutting vegetables. A white apron was tied around her waist as she hummed the tune of _Spotlight,_ stopping when she recognized that Lilly had entered the kitchen.

Still feeling dizzy, Lilly braced a hand against one of the cupboards, needing the support to remain standing. Why had she left her cozy bed to go downstairs? Stupid. _Oh, right! Hannah Montana._ "Did you hear that?"

"No, what do you mean?" Miley's eyes were fixed on the carrots in front of her, as if they required her full attention.

"There was Hannah Montana... well, her voice. I heard her singing."

"Oh that." Her movements stopped for a moment before the knife sliced down again, slowly chopping the carrot in two. "There was something about her on the radio."

Lilly's gaze fell to the radio sitting on the counter behind her. It was half buried under boxes of cereal, with the plug dangling over the edge of the counter. It couldn't have been the radio. Miley was obviously lying. When Lilly turned to her again, Miley had her back to her, with her head buried in the depths of the fridge. She had started humming the same song Lilly had heard upstairs. The image of Miley, standing on a stage in front of a big crowd and singing _Spotlight _popped into her mind, and at that moment, the thought didn't seem that absurd. On the contrary, it fit her perfectly as she'd no problem with picturing Miley like that. She always thought the brunette resembled Hannah Montana, a lot actually. Mostly because of her big blue eyes and her wide toothy smile.

"What're ya doin' here anyway." Finally Miley was looking at her. "You should get some rest," she said, slamming the fridge door shut with her hip.

Lilly knew she was right as she felt her eyelids grow heavier and heavier. "Well, Hannah Montana..."

A smile appeared on Miley's lips. "You really like her a lot, do ya?"

"Yes..." Lilly trailed off, her eyes closing. For a moment she thought her knees would buckle and she would fall, but then she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, holding her up. Lilly held onto Miley with a tight grip, her fingernails digging into her back as she dropped her head onto Miley's shoulder. All of her weight was now resting against Miley, as she was simply not able to stand on her own anymore.

"Ugh! You're too heavy."

"Sorry. I tried to lose weight, but it didn't work." Lilly let herself fall more against Miley, causing her to let out a groan.

"That's not what I meant. You don't need to lose any weight at all. You're pretty they way you are." She puffed another groan as she tried to hold their balance. "I'm just not able to hold you any longer. You should really, really get some rest."

Miley was half pulling and pushing Lilly up the stairs. She didn't know how she'd managed it when Lilly was finally sprawled out onto the bed.

"I can sing you a lullaby if you want to. Maybe it'll help ya fall asleep," she said as she pulled the covers over Lilly.

"Nuh-uh. I'm not five anymore," Lilly whined.

Miley nudged the tip of Lilly's nose with her index finder. "Duh. I was jokin'."

Lilly doubted it. Then she remembered Robbie Ray's harsh words, telling Miley she couldn't stay at home. "How come you're not in school?"

"So you heard our conversation?" Miley had a mortified expression on her face.

Lilly felt guilty for overhearing them, but there was no way she couldn't have heard it, even if she had tried. "I kinda did, I guess."

"Well, I convinced daddy. I promised him I'd do the housework. I had a lot of luck with that. He absolutely hates when I skip school, y'know? I did that a lot in middle school 'cause things were really tough."

"Oh." Lilly's gaze dropped to the covers.

"What is it? You think I should've gone to school?"

"That's not it. I was just thinking about the Hannah concert. What's going to happen if I'm still sick on Saturday?"

"I haven't thought about that. That would be a total disaster!"

Lilly thought that was clearly an overstatement, but Miley seemed to be quite serious about it though.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: If anyone still reads this (which I doubt)... my new beta-reader is the one and only GlisteningShadow! You should check out her AWESOME stories! Especially 'The Howling' and 'From Tomboy To Boy'. **

**I also want to thank dcjp for beta-reading the previous chapters and being so nice even though my grammar sucks. Thank youuu! Please check out her stories too! They're great! You'll miss something if you don't. =]**

_Secrets_

_Chapter Nine_

The floodlights were hot and blinded Hannah. She felt as if she was in the middle of the Sahara with the sun burning down on her head. Her blonde bangs had fallen into her face, sticking against her sweaty forehead, and she breathed noisily into the microphone before she puffed her exhausted "thank you". The concert was over. She'd had the feeling that it would never end. Hannah had never before sang that passionately, and now she was scared that her songs had come out more as screaming than actual singing. After all, she wanted to impress Lilly.

_Lilly..._

The thought of her shy smile lingered in Hannah's mind and seemed to always trigger this silly sensation inside of her. And even though she was surrounded by thousands of screaming fans, it was suddenly silent inside of her head. She took one last bow before she marched off the stage with feigned confidence, already fretting about whether Lilly would figure out the truth about who she was.

* * *

The buzzing sound of the loudspeakers still vibrated through Lilly's body, even though the concert was long over. She and Oliver were one of the few people who remained in their places in the stadium. She slipped a hand into his as he shuffled his shoes impatiently against the concrete floor, a flash of irritation striking his features.

"Your hand."

"Yeah?" Lilly's grip around his hand tightened. She didn't want to leave yet.

Oliver cleared his throat. "It's sticky," he said before he squirmed his hand out of Lilly's slippery grasp.

"Oh." Her heart had beat with joy only seconds ago, but now there was emptiness replacing the joy. He always had the ability to make her feel bad, nearly humiliated. Boys always had that effect on her – especially Oliver.

Why was she going out with him again? She remembered that she'd wanted to try it out, because there had to be a reason why girls liked having boyfriends so much.

"Do you want to leave?" she whispered, looking up at the stage. They really had had good seats. Hannah wouldn't come back, would she? Do an encore for her alone? No, there was no need to stay.

"Duh!" He scoffed. "I know you want to stay, but we're the last ones here."

Lilly looked around. There were still quite a few people and as she was about to leave, a security guard - a tall, muscular man - caught her attention by lying a heavy hand on her shoulder. Lilly jumped in surprise. _Woah._ W_here did he come from? _This was, Lilly had no doubt, a bad sign. Maybe she'd screamed too loud, or he thought it was weird that she was staying so long. Maybe he thought she was waiting for the right moment to jump on the stage to chase Hannah down. It wasn't that it didn't cross her mind, she would just never act upon it. "I swear I didn't do anything." The words spilled out in a rush.

"Hey! What do you want, dude?" Oliver regarded the man with suspicion.

"From you? Nothing... _dude_. I'm here to escort this lady to Miss Montana's dressing room."

Lilly blinked, waiting for what was said to sink in. "Why?" she squeaked, still worried about what was going to happen.

"Don't worry. Everything is alright. You didn't do anything wrong. She just told me she wanted to meet you."

A shiver ran down Lilly's spine at the thought of meeting Hannah - her biggest idol. Lilly heard Oliver grumble something incoherently under his breath that sounded very much like a curse as she was led behind the stage. Before she could even start to feel sorry for Oliver, she'd already forgotten about him when she realised where it was she was going.

The dressing room looked as glamorous as Lilly had always imagined. A gold framed mirror hung on the wall. Beneath stood open caskets, containing various colors of makeup with containers filled with glitter next to them. Some cosmetics were neatly lined up on the bench beneath the mirror, while others were scattered over it. Lilly proceeded further into the room. There was a purple leather couch right in the middle and a clothes rack to the far end, packed with sparkling dresses.

The air was suddenly caught in her lungs as she heard a familiar raspy laugh. She was only a blink away from meeting Hannah. Her gaze fell on the mirror. _Oh, my Gosh. I look like a total mess_. Her clothes were crinkled and her hair looked like she hadn't washed it for two weeks. Maybe she hadn't. The big hole in her jeans, which she got when she fell off her skateboard, was more visible than ever. She never felt the need to patch it up. But now she wished she had.

_Damn it!_

She tried to comb her hair with her fingers quickly, but before she knew it, Hannah was standing in front of her, smiling. They stared at each other for a while and Lilly's chest filled with tension. She thought she was going to explode and then she let out a quiet squeal.

A hoarse chuckle escaped Hannah's lips. "Well, hello to ya too." She fell on the sofa. "Wanna sit down?" She patted the spot next to her.

Lilly untangled her hands slowly from her hair, which had been frozen in place from the moment she saw Hannah. Her gaze then fell on the mirror. She self-consciously straightened herself as she noticed her shoulders were hunched.

"Don't be shy, c'mere."

"Yes, I will," Lilly said bashfully, but her feet didn't move. She cleared her throat. "I mean, that's what I'm going to do now." Hannah laughed. It was like Lilly had lost her brain somewhere along the way from the concert hall to the dressing room. _I'm such an airhead. What am I going to do? Oh my God, oh my God, oh my... just shut up and sit down!_

She perched on the sofa, as far away from Hannah as possible. "Sorry, I'm really excited." _And anxious and nervous._

"That's fine. Me too."

"Wha?" Lilly looked up in disbelief and was met with Hannah's alluring, yet innocent stare. Before Lilly could react, Hannah scooted nearer so that their legs were touching and Lilly thought she was going to swoon. She tried to move aside but the arm of the sofa was already pressing into her back, preventing her from moving further away.

"Would ya mind if I hugged you?" Hannah questioned nervously.

"Me?" Lilly clutched the arm of the couch as her hands started to shake. Why would Hannah ask her that?

"I don't see anyone else here, do you?"

"Yes... I mean no. Ugh. Anyone else _no_, hug _yes_," Lilly said, cringing. She was sure she sounded like a Stone Age man. She definitely looked like one.

Suddenly, she felt a strong pair of arms flinging around her in a bear hug. Even though Hannah's grip was tight, she felt soft like a big Teddy Bear. Like Miley's stuffed bear Beary, Lilly thought. She pictured Miley hugging her. It felt the same way, with the funny feelings and all. She couldn't tell what it was, just that it was a wonderful sensation. The sensation was only stronger with Hannah than with Miley and she didn't feel the need to pull back.

"You smell good." Hannah said before she nuzzled Lilly's hair.

Oh no! She smelled like a homeless person for sure! Hannah was just being considerate! Lilly jumped in alarm, bumping her head against Hannah's chin.

"Ouch," Hannah whimpered, letting go of Lilly and holding her chin.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay," she replied, her eyes shut tightly in pain. It couldn't hurt that much, could it? "As long as you kiss the hurt away, that is." She peeked at Lilly through squinted eyes.

Lilly shook her head so fast that she felt the bones in her neck snap. "I- I'd rather not," she stammered, forming a confused smile. _Heck, yes!_ She wanted to kiss her, but maybe Hannah asking her for a kiss was just her imagination. Maybe all of this was just a dream. _Please ask me again. Please. Pleeaassee._

"What's wrong? You seem...," Hannah paused briefly and snickered in amusement, one hand still on her chin "...well, flustered."

"Umm... I" Lilly hesitated for a second. She hadn't realized her inner battle was so obvious. "I was thinking about what you said."

"Yeah?"

"And I- I think I want to." The words came out as a whisper.

Hannah's face was scrunched in bafflement. "Hmm? Whatya talkin' about?"

Lilly shifted in her seat, discomfort clearly visible on her face. "Umm, you told me to...," she stopped mid-sentence, her cheeks flaring.

Hannah started to cackle hysterically, with one hand pressed to her stomach, and the other one to her face. The sound of it vibrated through Lilly's body until it stopped in her stomach and erupted into thousands of butterflies. "Sorry for bein' so silly. I just wanted to tease ya. You're way too cute when you're flustered." She let out another chuckle. "Y'know what's even better than kissin' me? - This." Hannah pressed her lips against Lilly's cheek before Lilly could process her actions.

Hannah's lips felt hot and the heat didn't dissipate, because Hannah simply didn't pull back. It felt like nausea and joy were at war in Lilly's stomach. When Hannah did withdraw, a deep voice penetrated the door. "What's takin' ya so long? Are ya okay in there?"

"I'm fine," Hannah hollered back before her gaze shot to Lilly, who was now looking at her through glazed eyes. "My daddy's here. You have to hide."

"Why?"

"Because," she snapped.

Lilly jumped from the couch. The movement was so fast that her legs gave way from under her and she dropped to her knees. Hannah was beside her in a flash, shoving her arms under Lilly's and pulling her up. Their fronts pressed together and Hannah's hot breath brushed over Lilly's face and Lilly was starting to get dizzy again, but then Hannah let go of her and gripped her by the wrist, dragging her forcefully behind the cloths rack. "Stay here and be quiet."

Lilly crouched down as Hannah opened the door, revealing a man with broad shoulders. Shoulder long hair peered from under his cowboy hat and his face was hidden behind a mustache. Even though she wasn't able to see his face completely, she could tell there was something familiar about him.

"I've already waited an hour for ya. What are ya doin' in there?" He tried to peer over her head into the room, but she stepped in his way, shoving the door against him. "Nothin'."

The answer came too fast and he pushed the door fully open and strode into the dressing room. "What are ya hidin'?"

"I told you! Nothin'! I want to change, so can you please leave?" Her voice had an anxious undertone.

The man scanned the room and Lilly held her breath unconsciously as his eyes landed on the clothes rack she was hiding behind. She thought she could hear Hannah drawing air in sharply from across the room. "I don't believe it," he said.

Within a few strides, he was standing directly in front of Lilly – she could only see his dusty cowboy boots. Now they were caught. She didn't know what they did wrong, but she was sure this man would be furious. She tried to draw further back as silently as she could, his boots in her line of vision, waiting for him to make the next move.

"These skirts are getting shorter and shorter." _Wait. What did he say? _The clothes on the rack stirred and he pulled something out. "You're not wearin' this on stage."

Miley seemed as surprised and relieved as Lilly did, as she closed her eyes and let out the air she'd been holding. Then two pink converses appeared next to the cowboy boots. "You're right. They are inappropriate for my audience. Thanks for pointing that out. Bye." Lilly watched as Hannah dragged him to the door, her hands closed around his arm.

"Stop pushin' me!" he pulled his arm out of her grasp, shaking his head in disbelief. "I want ya to hurry up, okay?" With that, he vanished into the hallway and as Hannah shut the door, Lilly appeared from behind the clothes rack.

"That was close," Hannah exhaled. "Sorry, but you have to go now." She smiled as though to say, _I'm sorry._

"No." Lilly shook her head. "I don't want to go." Her gaze fell on Hannah's hand. She wanted to hold it. It looked so soft. Even her bitten nails that were painted with black nail-polish looked cute. As though Hannah had read her mind, she stretched her hand out for Lilly to take. Lilly took her hand hesitantly and as her fingers closed around Hannah's, she let out a silent gasp. _So soft._ It was like touching cat paws.

"C'mon. I'll walk ya to the door."

Lilly was in too much awe to protest as she followed Hannah like a love struck boy. Hannah opened the door and led her into the deserted hall. "It was very nice meetin' ya."

"Please don't," Lilly whispered.

Hannah released her hand and took one step back towards her dressing room. "Bye."

Lilly's throat felt tight and she was barely able to swallow. She wanted to tell Hannah that she didn't want to leave again. The words were trapped in her throat though. There had to be something she could do to stop Hannah from throwing her out like this. Her mind went crazy with ideas. Settling on the simplest one, Lilly snatched for Hannah's hand, but Hannah pulled away before she could grab her. That was Lilly's incentive to give up. She was about to turn around, defeated, and go, but Hannah leaned in and pressed her lips swiftly against Lilly's.

Hannah could only see Lilly's eyes widen in surprise before she threw the door shut, missing Lilly's face only by a few inches. She turned the key and let her back fall against the door, finally letting the silent tears stream down her face that she had battled for so long to hold back. Now that Lilly was gone, she felt like everything had been pointless. Lilly liked Hannah Montana, not the real her. She had hurt her, but she had to make the goodbye fast, or else her walls would've broken down and she would've told Lilly to stay and Lilly would've found out who she really was. She groaned in frustration and pain and pushed herself from the door, slouching down in front of the mirror.

Her fingers went through her hair, slipping gracefully under her hairline. She pulled the blond wig off. Long, brown hair cascaded over her shoulders and down her back.

Miley Stewart's reflection stared sadly back at her.


End file.
